For information on overlapping courses between the Climate Minor and a given Major

Minimum of 25 credits

• Core: One of ESS 201, ATM S 211, or ATM S 321 (3-5 credits)
• Quantitative Requirement: One of CSE 160, Q SCI 291, Q SCI 381, OCEAN 215, ATM S 310, STAT 220, STAT 221, STAT 290, STAT 311, OCEAN 452/FISH 452, or AMATH 301 (3-5 credits)
• Integrated Capstone Experience: ATM S 475/ESS 475/OCEAN 475 (3 credits)
  • Prerequisite: either ESS 201, ATM S 211, or ATM S 321
  • ATM S/ESS/OCEAN 475 will be taught in Spring 2025 and Winter 2026.
  • An alternative for 475 is URBDP 498A/534A Environmental Planning (3 credits) in Spring 2025.  You will need to contact Miriam (uwpcc@uw.edu) to get the course applied to your minor.
• Electives: At least one course from each of at least three of the four categories below to reach 25 credits
  • Atmosphere, Energy, and Emissions (A):
    • ATM S 301 (5) Introduction to Atmospheric Sciences
      • Prerequisite: minimum grade of 2.0 in each of MATH 124; MATH 125; MATH 126; PHYS 121; PHYS 122; and PHYS 123
    • ATM S 350 (3) Ecological Climatology
      • Recommended: MATH 120 or equivalent; and either PHYS 114; PHYS 115; PHYS 116, or PHYS 121; PHYS 122; PHYS 123
    • ATM S 358 (3) Fundamentals of Atmospheric Chemistry
    • ATM S 380 (3) Weather and Climate Prediction
      • Prerequisite: MATH 126; PHYS 122; either ATM S 101, ATM S 111, ATM S 211, ATM S 301, ASTR 150, ASTR 321, or ESS 201
    • ATM S 487 (3) Fundamentals of Climate Change
      • Prerequisite: ATM S 321
    • CHEM E/M E/ENVIR 341 (3) Energy and Environment
      • Prerequisite: either MATH 112, MATH 124, MATH 134, or Q SCI 291; either CHEM 120, CHEM 142, CHEM 143, CHEM 145, PHYS 114, PHYS 121, or PHYS 141

The following courses (and others, just ask) may also be used, contact minor advisor to request exception in DARS:

• • • ATM S/CEE 480 (3) Air-Quality Modeling
      • Prerequisite: MATH 125
    • ATM S 458 (4) Air Pollution Chemistry

• • Land, Glaciology, and Paleoclimate (L):
    • ESS 315/ENVIR 313 (5) Environmental Earth Science
      • Prerequisite: either ESS 101, ESS 105, ESS 210, ESS 211, or ESS 212
      • Not currently offered
    • ESS 408 (3) Great Geological Issues
      • This course will be returning in 2025-2026
    • ESS 431 (4) Principles of Glaciology
      • Prerequisite: PHYS 121
    • ESS 433 (5) Environmental Change in the Glacial Ages
    • ESS 450 (3) Paleobiology
    • ESRM 426 (4) Wildland Hydrology

The following courses (and others, just ask) may also be used, contact minor advisor to request exception in DARS:

• • • ARCHY 369 (5) Ground Sloths and Sabertooth Cats: The Archaeology of Extinction  (approval is topic dependent)
    • OCEAN 497D (3) Paleoclimate proxies

• • Oceans and Fisheries (O):
    • OCEAN 330 (5) Marine Biogeochemical Cycles
      • Prerequisite: OCEAN 210; BIOL 200; and either OCEAN 295, CHEM 220, CHEM 223, or CHEM 237
    • OCEAN 409 (3) Marine Pollution
      • Prerequisite: OCEAN 101, OCEAN 102, OCEAN 200, OCEAN 250/BIOL 250/FISH 250, or permission of instructor
    • OCEAN 423 (3) Ocean Circulation and Climate
      • Prerequisite: MATH 125; and PHYS 123 or OCEAN 285
    • OCEAN 450 (4) Climate Extremes
    • FISH 427 (5) Tropical Marine Biology
      • Prerequisite: either FISH 270/MARBIO 270/OCEAN 270 or BIOL 220; and either FISH 290, FHL 333, or MARBIO 305
    • FISH 464 (4) Arctic Marine Vertebrate Ecology
      • Prerequisite: BIOL 180

The following courses (and others, just ask) may also be used, contact minor advisor to request exception in DARS:

• • • OCEAN 403 (5) Southern Ocean Climate and Ecosystems
      • Prerequisites: OCEAN 330, which may be taken concurrently; recommended: coursework in environmental science; ecology; and climate
    • OCEAN 432 (3) Microbes in a Changing Ocean
      • Prerequisites: BIOL 200; OCEAN 210
    • OCEAN 497 (3) Paleoclimate Proxies (requires instructor approval)

• • Impacts on Environment and Society (S):
    • AIS 385 (5) Indigenous Ecologies and Climate Change
    • ARCTIC/JSIS B 391 (5) Climate Change-An International Perspective: Science, Art and Activism
    • ARCTIC 400 (3) Integrating Policy and Science in Arctic Studies
    • BIOL 315 (3) Biological Impacts of Climate Change
      • Prerequisite: either BIOL 180, BIOL 240, B BIO 180, or T BIOL 120
    • ENV H 447 (3) Environmental Change and Infectious Disease
    • ENVIR 439 (5) Attaining a Sustainable Society
    • ENVIR/ESRM 362 (5) Introduction to Restoration Ecology

The following course(s) may also be used, contact minor advisor to request exception in DARS:

• • • ESRM 401 (5) Forest Ecology
    • CEE 498 (5) Engineering, Environment and Justice (498 is a special topics course, approval will depend on syllabus)
    • OCEAN 480 (3) Global Ocean-Human Culture
    • PUBPOL 449 D (5) Climate Change and Energy Policy
    • POLS 458 (5) Climate Politics

• Minimum 2.00 cumulative GPA in courses applied to the minor
• Minimum 15 credits taken through the UW
• Minimum 18 credits outside student’s major
• Minimum 15 upper division credits

Contact your major adviser to declare the minor and integrate the courses into your academic plan.

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